The article discusses the importance of rice in our diet as a staple food that is an essential part of our diet, and should be by no means eliminated from our diet. It discusses how arsenic ends up in our food, and how we can avoid it.
Rice as an Essential Part of our Diet:
Rice is one of the most popular, staple foods all around the world. No matter which corner of the world we travel to, we will always find that rice makes up a large part of the diets of the locals. Be it some eastern cuisine, European, American, Latin or Asian, we will always see rice being a huge part of the most traditional dishes. It can be really filling, and the mild taste can make it the perfect base to make the toppings that we add to it shine. In addition to it, the soft texture of rice means that it can be eaten by very young children and the elderly alike, who may have problems with chewing harder, more dense foods. There are a large number of varieties when it comes to rice as well, such as brown rice, the conventional white rice, wild rice, and jasmine rice to name a few. Depending on our preference and what we are cooking, we can choose our preferred variety of rice.
Drawbacks of buying Conventional Rice Brands:
When we think of the drawbacks of eating rice, we usually think of the drawbacks of white rice. White rice is rice which is the most processed, and has the hull, bran and core removed. This can mean that the rice has lost most of the nutrients and minerals it had to offer. This is why many people often prefer brown rice as compared to white rice, as brown rice only has the hull removed. White rice is generally considered to be a source of empty carbs and brown rice and other relatively unprocessed varieties have started to dominate. However, while we worry about carbs and nutritional value, we may end up overlooking the chemical; content of traditionally grown rice. What we aren’t aware of is the arsenic content of conventionally grown rice, which may be shockingly high. This arsenic can, over time, lead to great health complications as arsenic can be lethal even in small amounts.
How Arsenic Ends up in Rice, and How it can be Avoided:
It may seem strange to think that our food is laced with such a lethal chemical as arsenic, however, arsenic is found naturally in our soil and is absorbed by the rice as it grows. So, all varieties of rice have some amount of arsenic in them. In fact, varieties such as brown rice may have an even higher arsenic content as compared to white rice because it grows in a lot of water and does not have the outer coating removed. However, what makes matters worse is the fact that when rice is grown conventionally, it is soaked in all sorts of chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, and growth inducing hormones that highly increase the arsenic content in rice. Avoiding this can be simple, as all we need to do is invest in low arsenic rice. This rice is organic rice which means it is grown just the way that nature intended it to be, and is free of any extra chemicals. In this manner, we can make sure that the rice we eat is as healthy as it can be no matter if it is brown rice or white.
